LRT advocate frustrated by SkyTrain fixation

Letter

There is an old axiom that states: “It is a mistake to assume that those in charge know what they are doing.” Lawrence Frank’s piece “We all pay for congestion” [Nov. 17-24] is nothing more than bureaucratic bafflegab at its worst.

The Livable Region Strategic Plan fails because its authors did not comprehend the power of modern light rail transit in helping to solve traffic congestion. Transit planners continued planning for extremely expensive SkyTrain, knowing it would do little to help gridlock, to appease their political masters.

Modern LRT, in operation in over 480 cities around the world with more than 100 built since SkyTrain was first marketed, has created a renaissance in public transport. The reason is simple: LRT is affordable, adaptable, and accessible.

The failure of SkyTrain is clearly evident with RAV planning: for the now $2.2-billion cost of RAV, we could build instead LRT from downtown Vancouver to the airport, Steveston, and Ironwood Mall in Richmond, and LRT from UBC to BCIT and with enough left over to install a basic diesel LRT service from Vancouver to Chilliwack!